Simply Perfect

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

In their earliest movies, the Marx Brothers were at their best and funniest. The scripts were crisp and very witty, the antics were hilarious, and there were very good plots that held it all together. "A Night at the Opera" is one such film, and among my favorites. Groucho plays Otis B. Driftwood, a stage producer and director. Chico plays Florello, a stage handyman, and Harpo plays Tomasso, and friend of Chico's. Kitty Carlisle plays Rosa, and Allan Jones plays Ricardo. They are the romance for the film. Two other roles are excellent. Margaret Dumont plays Mrs. Claypool, and Sig Ruman is over-the-top funny as Gottlieb.The story is a great one that lends itself perfectly for the type of antics the Marx Brothers excel at. Naturally, the boys get to use their musical talents – and they were very talented on instruments. The movie is funny throughout, and it has a Marx Brothers trademark sequence of grand antics. Chico and Harpo had quite the athletic ability as well – as seen in the hilarious stage antics. Other reviewers discuss the setting, and I don't want to say more about the plot. It unfolds wonderfully and hilariously. Here are some samples of dialog to when one's appetite for watching "A Night at the Opera."Florello, "Shhh! Don't wake him up. He's got insomnia. He's trying to sleep it off."Sgt. Henderson (played by Robert O'Connor), "Say, what's that bed doing here?" Otis, "I don't see it doing anything."Florello, "What'' I say?" Otis, "Tell them you're not here." Florello, "Suppose they don't believe me." Otis, "They'll believe you when you start talking."Sgt. Henderson, "I notice the table is set for four." Otis, "That's nothing. My alarm clock is set for eight. That doesn't prove a thing."Sgt. Henderson, "What's this?" Otis, "Why, it's a fire escape. And, uh, that's a table. And this is a room. And there's the door leading out. I wish you'd use it. I .. 'I vahndt to be alone.'"This is a movie guaranteed to keep one in stitches. It's a great addition to any film library.

is it DUCK SOUP or A NIGHT AT THE OPERA? it sure is not HORSE FEATHERS or THE BIG STORE? OK.yes, this is THE Marx film for "family entertainment" - has it all. very funny scenes, Marxes all fired up. even good music, which a reviewer here adroitly says is overdone.in this Reviewers' mind, it can never compare to DUCK SOUP as a "comedy". the 1933 film is nearly perfect as such. even if NIGHT lost most of the music, the Marx characters are now nice guys who help the lovers. they are so freaking nice that even Margaret Dumont, Groucho's love interest in the war picture, is not really needed! think of how important she was to DUCK SOUP! NIGHT is probably the best film to take slapstick artists and tone them down./ we all know what happened to Laurel and Hardy when they switched to the "bigs"; what happened to Abbott and Costello, from day one on the sound stage. (when their TV show hit the waves, fans could see what they were missing, in those overlong, sentimental films, for 10 years! all about "escapism"! Thalberg thought audiences needed rest time between laffs. so he added music.very much a matter of taste. the DVD is worth owning. but beware it may come with "lesser" MB vehicles, hard to sit through.

If you have kids, you have to introduce them to the Marx Bros and this one and a Day at the Races are the best for that. The dialog is super clever and meant for adults but the kids eat up the action. They will have better senses of humor and will more likely grow up to be better people. A Night at the Opera is just plain fun. If you think its not funny then go back and lay down in your casket. The Marx Bros did to opera what it deserves. The contract scene should be a standard in any law course. You can go on and on. A true masterpiece. I love Duck Soup but this is the great one and there never has been anything close. I have seen it 30 times, know much of it by heart and every time I see it, I laugh. And I always feel a lot better afterward.

Amusing and entertaining Marx picture , it has a lot of funny material and unfortunately intrusive songs . Groucho's wisecracks and the incomparable Chico and Harpo carry the movie . It deals with a sly business manager named Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) and two (Chico Marx as Fiorello and Harpo Marx as Tomasso) wacky friends of two (Kitty Carlisle as Rosa and Allan Jones as Ricardo) opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies . Later on , Marx Brothers anarchize the opera , insulting and mocking the guests and players . Their actions include some on stage antics during the stage debut , as they arrange for the normal tenor to be absent so that the young lover named Ricardo can get his chance . Classic Marx film with many funny sequences , this is the most sustained bit of insanity , full of crazy gags , antics and amusement , being now deemed a satiric masterpiece ,and one of the biggest hits . Although it suffers from staginess and musical comedy plotting but gives the zany threesome plenty of comic elaboration . Enough gags for give several movies , but our favorite is still the cabin scene . Despite the abundant songs and silly as well as sappy love story the movie maintains itself very well . This is a fun comedy as hilariously amusing as the films they made at Paramount with Zeppo . This is a M.G.M production lavishly financed by Irving Thalberg . Excellent Harpo Marx , as usual , he even did many of his own stunts , he later said it was a silly thing for a 47-year-old non-stuntman to have done . Groucho said that this was his favorite among his movies . The Marx Bros (minus Zeppo) are in peak form in this vintage musical comedy with co-star the legendary Margaret Dumont , including sparkling dialogs with Groucho . Furthermore , Sig Ruman makes his first of three appearances in The Marx Brothers films. However , this is the first Marx Brothers film made without brother Zeppo Marx, it started a new trend of The Marx Brothers movies featuring a Zeppo-like supporting character who carries the love story and sings the song . The motion picture was well directed by Sam Wood . Sam Wood, freshman The Marx Brothers director in this film, was a perfectionist , the scene in which Harpo Marx hangs from the rope was filmed so many times that Harpo Marx's hands became cut and swollen from the rope . Don't miss it , one of the funniest picture ever made by Marx BrothersOther important films starred by Marx Brothers -many of them Broadway farce plays transfered by scenarists into vehicle for the Brothres- , they are the followings : ¨Animal crackers¨, ¨Duck soap¨ that was a flop when first released but today considered a masterpiece , ¨Horse Feathers¨, ¨At the circus¨, ¨Day at the races¨ , ¨Room service¨ , ¨Go West¨, ¨Love Happy¨ and ¨Night in Casablanca¨, though in 1946 the Marx formula was wearing thin . Any film with Groucho , Chico , Harpo and Zeppo is well worth seeing .